Drammenselva
Encyclopedia
Buskerud
is a county in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Oppland, Sogn og Fjordane, Hordaland, Telemark, and Vestfold. The county administration is located in Drammen.-Geography:...
county
Counties of Norway
Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties . The counties form the primary first-level subdivisions of Norway and are further divided into 430 municipalities...
, southeastern Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
.
Location
Drammenselva is one of the largest rivers in Norway, with a drainage basinDrainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
of about 17,000 square kilometers and a flow rate of 300 cubic meters per second. The river has an average discharge of about 300 m3 / s. Drammen River's total length is 308 km making it the 5th longest river in Norway.
Its 48 km course runs from Tyrifjorden
Tyrifjorden
Tyrifjorden is Norway's fifth largest lake with an area of 137 km2. It has a volume of 13 km3, is 295 meters deep at its deepest, and lies 63 meters above sea level...
in the north to Drammensfjord
Drammensfjord
Drammensfjord is a fjord in Norway that connects to Ytre Oslofjord on the west side. It stretches to the north and northeast. The Drammenselva river discharges into the head of the fjord...
in the south, where it cuts through the centre of the city of Drammen
Drammen
Drammen is a city in Buskerud County, Norway. The port and river city of Drammen is centrally located in the eastern and most populated part of Norway.-Location:...
. The Drammen River gathers inflow from several streams and rivers. The largest include the Simoa
Simoa
Simoa is the name of a river which flows through the municipalities of Sigdal and Modum in Buskerud County, Norway.-Location:The Simoa river runs from Lake Soneren through the municipality of Sigdal in a south-easterly course until it flows into Drammenselva at Åmot in Modum...
River.
Development and usage
For centuries the river was used for log drivingLog driving
Log driving is a means of log transport which makes use of a river's current to move floating tree trunks downstream to sawmills and pulp mills.It was the main transportation method of the early logging industry in Europe and North America...
, transporting timber from the forests in Eiker
Eiker
Eiker is a traditional district in the county of Buskerud, Norway.-History:Eiker consists of the municipalities of Nedre Eiker and Øvre Eiker . The area is located in the southern part of Buskerud county....
to the many paper mills and other industry along the river. From the 1850s onwards, many steam-powered sawmills and planing mills were established along the lower section of the river, and products became exports moving through the Port of Drammen. During the 20th century this activity caused the river to be heavily polluted. However, the majority of the paper and pulp factories in Drammen shut down in the 1960s and 1970s, and the river is now clean and safe.
On its way to the sea, Drammen River passes a series of rapids and waterfalls. The largest are Vikerfoss, Geithusfoss, Kattfoss, Gravfoss, Embretsfoss, Døvikfoss and Hellefoss. There are a number of power plants on the Drammen River several with dams. The owner and operator is EB Kraftproduksjon
EB Kraftproduksjon
EB Kraftproduksjon AS is a Norwegian power company that operates 31 hydroelectric power plants, primarily in Buskerud, with total average annual production of 2.3 TWh. The company is owned by Energiselskapet Buskerud and E-CO Energi ....
which is headquartered in Drammen. The power company is owned by Buskerud Energy Power Generation (Energiselskapet Buskerud AS).
- Hellefoss has a hydroelectric dam in HokksundHokksundHokksund is a town in the municipality of Øvre Eiker in the county of Buskerud in Norway.-History:Hokksund is the administrative centre, and largest town in Øvre Eiker, with a population of around 8,000. The river Drammenselva flows through the town, 500m from the centre. Hokksund has developed on...
in Øvre EikerØvre EikerØvre Eiker is a municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Eiker. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Hokksund. The old municipality of Eiker was divided into Øvre Eiker and Nedre Eiker on 1 July 1885.-Name:The Old Norse form of...
municipality - Døvikfoss and Embretsfoss have hydroelectric dams in Åmot ÅmotÅmot is a municipality in Hedmark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Østerdalen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Rena...
in ModumModumModum is a municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Hallingdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Vikersund. The municipality of Modum was established on 1 January 1838 .The area has a long tradition of skiing with several famous...
municipality - Gravfoss and Geithusfoss have hydroelectric power station in GeithusGeithusGeithus is a village in Modum municipality, Norway....
ModumModumModum is a municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Hallingdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Vikersund. The municipality of Modum was established on 1 January 1838 .The area has a long tradition of skiing with several famous...
municipality
Since then the city of Drammen has spent substantial resources on developing attractive park areas along the riverside. The area between the City and the Holmen bridges in Drammen has also been developed into parkland, and is now known as Bragernes
Bragernes
Bragernes is one of the central parts of the Norwegian city of Drammen.-Location:Bragernes is located on the northern side of the Drammen River and contains the famous town square Bragernes square , the town hall, the Drammen Theatre , Drammen park and most of the shopping and nightlife in Drammen...
Riverside Park. Hundreds of trees and thousands of perennials have been planted here in order to create a pleasant leisure area. Today Drammenselva is used for recreational purposes, and is known for its excellent salmon fishing. It is the site of the annual Drammen River Festival (Drammen Elvefestival). The festival features music concerts, dragon boats, raft racing and bathtub rowing. More than 100 different events take place during the River Festival.